


shaken

by mindero



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-10-14 15:49:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17511446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mindero/pseuds/mindero
Summary: Beau doesn’t know if Jester does it on purpose or not, but sometimes she just has the absolutely worst timing.





	shaken

**Author's Note:**

> im gay

Beau doesn’t know if Jester does it on purpose or not, but sometimes she just has the absolutely worst timing.

 

Beau’s taking cover behind an upended table, pressing her hand against the wound on her side and trying to figure out how to punch this magical douchebag they’re fighting without getting fucking annihilated, when Jester blinks into existence next to her.

 

“Oh, hey,” Jester says, sounding like she’s out of breath. “How are you feeling?”

 

“About five out of ten,” Beau tells her, and takes a peak at the magic dick over the edge of the table. Yasha’s just in the middle of trying to slice the dude like a piece of cheese, but he’s not looking that bad. Honestly, the dude could just do the honorably thing and _die_ already.

 

“Okie dokie,” Jester says, nodding. “Just say if you need the magic touch.”

 

Beau’s nodding, not really one hundred percent in the conversation, a bit more concerned about the guy trying to kill them, but apparently Jester’s not done yet.

 

“Oh, and by the way,” she says, “do you wanna make out sometime, maybe? I kinda wanna practice.”

 

The words make Beau rear back from her stalking post and fall on her ass. The pain in her side intensifies and she takes a moment to curse, loudly, before she looks up at Jester.

 

“ _What?_ ”

 

Jester doesn’t get the chance to reply, because at that moment she blinks out of existence again, leaving Beau to gape like a fish at the spot she had just vacated.

 

“What?” she repeats, just to make sure the universe knows how utterly fucking ridiculous the situation is.

 

The universe, as per usual, doesn’t answer, so Beau pushes the matter to the back of her head and gets back into the fray.

 

\--

 

She doesn’t ask Jester about it afterwards, because she’s not entirely sure how to do that. She spends some time thinking about it, looking for an opportunity to bring it up, but when she and Jester are finally more or less alone, she chickens out or freezes or whatever. Jester doesn’t say anything about it either, so she ends up doubting if it actually happened. Jester shows her some older drawings Beau hasn’t yet seen, and Beau chalks the whole ordeal up to blood loss and adrenaline and wishful thinking.

 

Not that she wishes she could kiss Jester.

 

It’s just a saying.

 

\--

 

Beau gets into another bar fight with Jester, because apparently it’s a Thing they do nowadays. She can’t deny that fighting Jester is fun - it absolutely is, the woman has some _moves_ \- but if she’s being honest she would rather get into a fight with someone who she doesn’t like. She pulls her punches a bit, unconsciously, and it always ends up biting her in the ass because Jester sure as hell doesn’t. She loses, like she always does when she’s fighting Jester, and although she hates losing, she doesn’t mind it that much when Jester is clearly so _hyped_ about winning.

 

They break away from the loud, smoky bar and step into the cool evening air, Beau wiping blood away from her cracked lip and Jester laughing. Jester has a broken nose that she still hasn’t healed and she keeps saying “ouch” in between laughter, making Beau snort into her hand.

 

“Did you see their faces, Beau?” Jester says when they sit down on the steps that lead up to the bar. “They never expect it, it’s so funny!”

 

“Uh-huh,” Beau says. She can feel her right eye closing and she’s pretty sure she has cracked ribs. “Never gets old.”

 

“Yeah,” Jester says and snickers. She winces when her nose reminds her of the damage done to it, and sighs. “Okay, I guess I have to fix this.”

 

She taps a finger against the side of her nose and grimaces as it rights itself. There’s still blood under her nose, on her mouth and chin, probably drying now, but she doesn’t seem to mind it too much.

 

It’s weird, Beau thinks, how she still looks absolutely gorgeous like this.

 

“You want me to do you?” Jester asks, turning towards Beau.

 

Beau blinks. “Huh?”

 

Jester gestures towards Beau’s face. “Do you want me to heal you?”

 

Beau presses her thumb against her lip; it has stopped bleeding now, but unless she gets it fixed it’s gonna be a pain everytime she eats, speaks or just, exists in general.

 

“Yeah, thanks.”

 

“Let’s see,” Jester murmurs, as she angles her body towards Beau. She leans in close, presses the tips of her fingers on the side of Beau’s face and turns her head to examine her bruises.

 

“I got you good,” she says.

 

“You, uh, you sure did,” Beau agrees. Her throat is dry, but she tries to swallow anyway, tries to chase the control she has just a minute ago before Jester decided to get so damn close to her. She licks her lips despite the pain and watches Jester closely as she traces her fingers across her cheek.

 

“Let’s see,” Jester repeats, and then, like it’s nothing, presses her thumb against Beau’s bottom lip, dragging just slightly.

 

Beau can feel the cut above her eyebrow close, can feel the pain leave her ribs, and she knows her lip is healing, because the pressure Jester puts against it no longer hurts. Her heart beats wildly in her chest like it’s trying to re-bruise her ribs, and she’s sure Jester can feel that she’s no longer breathing.

 

Jester’s gaze lifts from Beau’s mouth to her eyes, and Beau knows, she _knows_ this isn’t just in her head. Jester’s purple eyes have intensity to them Beau has never seen before, and it’s making Beau’s self control crack. She sucks breath in through her teeth, opens her mouth to say something, she’s not even sure _what_ , but never gets the chance to.

 

Jester lets go of her and draws back, blinking rapidly. There’s surprise on her face that quickly gives way to an easy grin as she claps her hands together, startling Beau.

 

“Right! I think I’m gonna go get some milk, do you want something?” Jester says cheerfully, already getting up. “We might be leaving soon, so now’s our last chance!”

 

“I-” Beau’s voice cracks and she clears her throat to get it working. “I’m good. I think I’m gonna stay here for a bit.”

 

“Right-o, see you soon!”

 

Beau stares at Jester as she skips back in the bar and breaths out shakily.

 

“What the fuck.”

 

\--

 

Beau has every intention to bring it up.

 

She doesn’t.

 

\--

 

The thing is, Beau might’ve been able to forget about the whole kissing Jester thing after Jester first brought it up some weeks ago. She definitely had _some_ trouble to get it out of her head after Jester healed her during their night out, but still - she might’ve let it go after some time if given the chance.

 

Jester doesn’t give her the chance. She keeps dropping kisses on her cheeks, her forehead, on any patch of skin on Beau’s face that she can reach, and it’s… it’s fucking Beau up a little bit.

 

Then there’s the thing with the bee. The thing, where she gets stung by one because Jester and Cad told her it was a good idea to say hi to one and it didn’t quite go as planned. The thing where Jester holds Beau’s hand, looking at the reddening skin above her knuckles, and asks her if she wants her to kiss it better. The thing where Jester presses her lips on Beau’s knuckles and Beau almost has a heart attack.

 

Jester doesn’t let Beau forget. So Beau decides she won’t let Jester dance around it anymore. She decides it’s time to put on her big girl pants and _talk._

 

\--

 

She tries to find the right moment, she wears she does, but it never comes.

 

The two of them end up running away from crown guards after another one of Jester’s attempt at vandalizing a temple, Jester holding a hand over her mouth as she tries not to laugh and Beau gripping her other hand as she just… tries to get them away before they get _caught._

 

She turns left to an alley, dragging Jester behind her, and keeps running, making turns every time she gets the chance until they’re hidden deep in the maze of buildings and she’s fairly sure the guards are no longer following them. She pulls Jester behind a bunch of crates stacked in an alley, just in case, and crouches down with her back against the brick wall.

 

She watches Jester fall to her knees, grinning widely from ear to ear, and it’s then that the thought comes to her; Jester might have a point with the whole bad timing thing.

 

“Listen, Jester, I’ve been meaning to talk to you,” Beau starts while pressing a hand against her chest, trying to breathe.

 

“What do you mean?” Jester asks, breathing heavily. “We talk all the time.”

 

“About the kissing thing.”

 

Jester’s eyes widen as she turns to stare at Beau. “Now? You want to- _now?_ ”

 

Beau shrugs. “No time like the present.”

 

“Oh shit balls, Traveler, help me,” Jester mutters, closing her eyes.

 

“Look, uh, correct me if I’m wrong, but I’ve kinda been getting the impression that you want to kiss me-”

 

“Well, _yeah,_ ” Jester interrupts her, “I mean I did ask that one time.”

 

“Yeah, but then you never said anything, and-”

 

“You didn’t say anything either!”

 

Jester’s voice gets louder towards to the end of the sentence and Beau grasps the sleeve of her dress as she pulls her closer, hushing her.

 

“Don’t hush me!” Jester whispers, slapping Beau’s hand away.

 

“Dammit, Jester, will you just-”

 

This time Beau cuts herself off. Jester is frowning, decidedly avoiding her gaze, and Beau might be wrong, but she looks… scared. She’s hugging her arms to her chest and her tail keeps twitching where it’s curled around her knees. She turns her head away until it’s covered by her hair and Beau can no longer look at her face.

 

It honestly never occurred to Beau that Jester might be just as freaked out about this as she is.

 

“Hey, uh…” She shuffles closer to Jester until her knees come into contact with Jester’s tail, and extends her hand to gently run her knuckles along Jester’s jaw. “It’s okay, Jes.”

 

“Of course it is,” Jester says, trying to sound light. “It’s just. I haven’t properly kissed anyone, right? And I want to kiss you, but I’m not sure how to, and also I’m not sure if you want to, and maybe you think it’s weird, you know.”

 

Beau moves her hand on Jester’s face, knocks her knuckles lightly against her chin. “Trust me when I, um, say that I... I really want to.”

 

Jester looks at her, biting her lip. Beau lets her hand fall before she ends up running her fingers over the bite marks.

 

“Could you?” Jester asks after a moment of silence.

 

Beau looks around them at the brick walls and the shady looking trash bag not too far from them. “Now?”

 

“No time like the present?”

 

Beau opens her mouth, but finds that she really doesn’t have a good comeback to that.

 

“Are you… sure?”

 

Jester presses her lips together and nods. Beau rubs a hand over her mouth and nods back.

 

“Okay. Alright. Uh.”

 

She shuffles a bit to get comfortable, then gets up on her knees, her other hand drawing up so she can cup Jester’s face, tilt it towards hers. Jester looks beautiful, her wide eyes meeting Beau’s, her mouth fallen open slightly, and Beau runs her thumb across her cheek, over the dark freckles on her blue skin. Jester’s eyes flutter close for a moment and when she swallows, Beau tracks the movement of her throat with her eyes.

 

“Okay. Here we go,” she whispers and leans down.

 

She brushes her lips against Jester’s gently, draws back, then does it again. When she feels Jester’s grip tighten on the front of her shirt, trying to pull her closer, she swallows, then presses in, firmer.

 

She’s kissed other girls before, but none of them were like Jester. Jester, her best friends whom she loves, who kisses hesitantly, at first, then with more force when Beau tries to keep it light for too long. She nips at Beau’s bottom lip and some of Beau’s self control flies off with the surprised noise she makes. Her other hand makes its way to the nape of Jester’s neck, tangles into the hair there and tilts her head back, and she kisses her, open mouthed, until they’re both breathing hard and Jester is making high-pitched noises in the back of her throat.

 

She tries to draw back to take a moment to catch her breath, but Jester chases after her, her hands sliding around Beau’s sides and up to her shoulder blades so she can pull her back in.

 

“Holy shit,” Jester whispers when they eventually do end the kiss.

 

“Yeah,” Beau agrees. She presses her forehead against Jester’s and takes a long breath in, trying to reconnect with reality, but not entirely sure it’s working.

 

Jester licks her lips; so close that Beau can almost feel it. “Again. I want…”

 

Jester leans in again. They kiss until Beau loses track of time, until she forgets what they were doing before, forgets that they definitely should be doing this someplace else.

 

She’s reminded of it when the ground starts feeling bad on her knees, and she kisses the edge of Jester’s mouth one last time before pulling back.

 

“Come on, we have to go before the others get worried.”

 

Jester nods, looking dazed. “Yeah. Yeah, of course. We’ll continue later?”

 

Beau smiles and tugs a strand of Jester’s hair behind her ear.

 

“Definitely.”


End file.
